1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coin elevating device or so-called escalator adapted to transport coins in a serial and edge to edge mode from a coin collecting reservoir towards a dispensing location.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Such devices are known and are making part e.g. of coin dispensing devices, which are used e.g. in gambling machines and the like. With such devices the coin elevating device connects to the outlet opening of a coin collecting reservoir that is provided with a rotary disc, by means of which the coins are urged one by one through the outlet from the reservoir into a coin raising channel of the coin elevating device. Examples of such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,437,478; 4,943,258 and 5,170,874 and in International patent application WO 97/05581.
With devices of this type it is important that the coins are pushed "edge to edge" through the elevating channel upwardly. The coins must be prevented from getting in overlapping positions like roof tiles and thereby getting jammed within the elevating channel. Taking measures to secure that the clearance within the elevating channel, as seen in the direction of the thickness of the coins, is a fraction of the coin thickness only, seems to be an obvious solution. For a number of reasons, however, this would not be an effective solution. Not counting the (slight) variations in thickness which may occur with one type of coin one may have to deal with coins that are bent or distorted otherwise and require a relative large clearance in the coin thickness direction.
Moreover the bottom of the collecting reservoir and the rotary disc are generally positioned at an angle relative to the vertical plane, so that the elevating channel is initially taking a position at the same angle, which position changes through a curve into a vertical (less space requiring) position, which curve also requires additional clearance in the coin thickness direction according to the curve being sharper and the coin diameter being larger.
For the above reasons relative large clearances are provided in the elevating channel with the well-known devices and the excess clearance is "taken away" through resilient means, that urge the coins onto the bottom or base plate of the elevating channel guiding base.
In the embodiment disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,478 the resilient means are constituted by a spring blade that is positioned within the space between the two sidewall portions and extends through said space to engage the stream of coins within the raising channel. However, this has not proved to be a reliable means for preventing the coins from getting into mutually overlapping positions. Therefore in the embodiment disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,874 the elevating channel is laterally confined--at least in the transitional area between an initial obliquely rising section and a vertical section of the elevating channel--by a series of conical rollers that are positioned side by side as seen in the conveying direction and are mounted to yield against spring action in the coin thickness direction. The combined resistive force exerted by these rollers on the stream of coins in the conveying direction, however, is considerable and means an increase of the energy which is required for driving the rotary disc. This applies in particular when the lateral edges in the flat sections of the elevating channel are confined by similar rollers so as to be able to deal with (strongly) bent coins.
The same disadvantage applies for the embodiment disclosed in International patent application WO 97/05581, wherein the resilient means are formed by a series of balls, which are spring loaded at right angles to the conveying direction and extend through a slot to engage the stream of coins (see the embodiment of FIG. 12 in particular).
Finally the embodiment according to U.S. Pat. No. 4,943,258 shows the use of a press ball, that extends through a longitudinal slot to engage a coin from the stream of coins. The ball is guided--from the side turned away from a base plate of the elevating channel--by a supporting surface that diverges relative to said base plate in the conveying direction. The ball may thus readily yield in the coin conveying direction. However, a returning movement of the respective coin and of all of the coins downstream of it, will be prevented under all circumstances, due to the ball tending, in such returning movement direction, to wedge the coin in place. In this way, in case of a stagnating supply of coins from the collecting reservoir, the ball--when provided at the right location--will prevent the stream of coins within the elevating channel from moving back towards the collecting reservoir. The construction just referred to, however, would not offer an effective solution for the above mentioned problems, which are connected with the existence of a sharp transitional curve in the elevating channel and/or the occurance of distorted (bent) coins. To solve such problems a series of balls would have to be used; in normal use, all of the balls would have to be simultaneously lifted from the respective seats and kept in the elevated positions, which would require a relatively large amount of additional driving energy.
The present invention aims at removing the drawbacks of the well-known devices by simple and effective means, which contribute to an undisturbed coin conveyance and requires less additional driving energy.